LONDON (ShareCast) - - Fed unveils new stimulus measures
- Eurogroup approves Greek aid
- Centamin plummets after suspending Sukari

Indices across Europe pulled back on Thursday morning as they digested last night's stimulus plan from the Federal Reserve, with analysts saying that the move was already priced into markets.

After setting a new a nine-month at 5,946 the day before - the last time the index closed higher was on March 19th at 5,961 - the Footsie fell into the red early on but trade was cautious with just 16 points separating its intraday low and high.

After the closing bell in Europe last night, the Fed announced that it would reinstate a policy of ‘quantitative easing’ “initially at a pace of $45bn per month". It said it would keep its range of interest rates near zero as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5%, near-term inflation stays below 2.5% and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored.

However, in the press conference following the Fed decision, Chairman Ben Bernanke said: “We cannot offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff — it’s just too big." Nevertheless, he did add that he thought the 'cliff' would be averted.

"As we’ve seen on numerous occasions recently, the move was already priced into the markets which meant that shortly after the initial spike, prices fell back to their previous levels as traders took profits on their positions. Today we’re seeing stocks falling again as they pare gains from the previous days, which again came in anticipation of this decision," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.

In other news, the Eurogroup has given final approval to the distribution of €45bn in financial assistance for Greece after Athens successfully closed deals to undertake the buyback of €31.9bn of its sovereign debt.

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said that Greece has managed to get back on a “solid track” and that the Eurozone finance ministers are ready to take additional measures, though he insisted that Athens must comply with its obligations.

Meanwhile, EU finance ministers yesterday agreed to a deal to give the European Central Bank (ECB) new powers to police Eurozone banks, embarking on the first step in a new phase of closer integration to help underpin the euro.

FTSE 100: Wood Group hit by mixed update

Energy services giant Wood Group has said that it expects to deliver good growth this year, with overall conditions in energy markets remaining "favourable". However, shares fell early on after reporting mixed trading in its Upstream division.

Natural gas company BG Group was out of favour after naming executive Chris Finlayson as its new CEO to replace Sir Frank Chapman, who is stepping down because of medical reasons.

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, fell despite saying that it has been awarded a significant order to supply integrated power and propulsion systems for seven offshore drilling vessels for Brazilian oil company Petrobras.

After a decent start, mining stocks were pulled lower by midday with ENRC and Vedanta slipping. Diversified resources giant BHP Billiton was down after giving the green light for a $520m investment in its Longford Gas Conditioning Plant project in Australia, which is necessary to its production plans.

Supermarket group Morrison was lower after appointing Trevor Strain as its new Finance Director, who will replace Richard Penncock who announced his resignation in June. Strain is currently the Finance Director of Corporate at the company.

Reed Elsevier and Severn Trent were hit by downgrades this morning from Bank of America Merill Lynch and Credit Suisse, respectively, with ratings on both stocks being cut to 'underperform'.

FTSE 250: Centamin plummets after suspending operations

Egypt-focused gold mining company Centamin saw shares tumble early on after saying that it has suspended operations at its Sukari mine due to issues with fuel suppliers and delays with gold exports. Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to 'hold' this morning and slashed its target price from 110p to 40p.

Centamin said that it has received an "illegal" $65m retrospective claim from a local fuel company, which is now refusing to supply more fuel to Sukari until the claim is paid. In addition, the firm also announced that its process of gold exports has been hit by delays due to "an unforeseen and arbitrary request from customs officials" for the prior approval from authorities.

High Street retailer Sports Direct fell despite delivering significant growth across the board in the first with with revenue up 22.5%.

Bus and train group National Express gained after saying it is on target to deliver full-year results in line with company expectations despite challenging conditions.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,203.00p +1.78%
Aviva (AV.) 371.10p +1.14%
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 249.70p +1.09%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,154.00p +0.96%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 695.50p +0.87%
Barclays (BARC) 254.55p +0.77%
ITV (ITV) 102.80p +0.49%
Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 353.20p +0.46%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 813.50p +0.43%
SABMiller (SAB) 2,800.50p +0.41%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 741.00p -3.58%
Evraz (EVR) 255.70p -3.03%
Amec (AMEC) 1,015.00p -2.68%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,969.50p -2.40%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 743.50p -1.85%
BG Group (BG.) 1,046.50p -1.74%
Experian (EXPN) 1,006.00p -1.57%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,854.50p -1.49%
Aggreko (AGK) 2,145.00p -1.38%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 760.00p -1.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers
National Express Group (NEX) 186.30p +3.39%
Ruspetro (RPO) 86.40p +2.86%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 401.50p +2.69%
NMC Health (NMC) 180.50p +2.32%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 229.40p +2.00%
Michael Page International (MPI) 385.00p +1.99%
Savills (SVS) 458.30p +1.98%
Shanks Group (SKS) 82.55p +1.91%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 312.70p +1.72%
Synthomer (SYNT) 193.10p +1.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 31.29p -40.63%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 386.50p -5.57%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 29.47p -5.45%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 403.80p -4.99%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 264.70p -4.44%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 715.00p -3.18%
Dialight (DIA) 1,027.00p -2.84%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 620.00p -2.52%
BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.21 -2.10%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 126.10p -2.02%

BC

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